LONDON.- The Serpentine Gallery presents a major exhibition of the work of celebrated artist Yoko Ono for the London 2012 Festival, which includes #smilesfilm, a large-scale participatory project.

The Serpentine’s timely exhibition reflects upon the enormous impact that Yoko Ono has made on contemporary art, exploring her influential role in art, music, film and performance. Her first exhibition in a London public institution for more than a decade, Ono presents new and existing works, some of which have rarely been shown in the UK. These include installations, films and performances.

As a part of her exhibition, Ono presents #smilesfilm, a large-scale project which is exhibited at the Serpentine Gallery and online for the London 2012 Festival. Conceived as a way of connecting people across the world, the project invites people to upload and send an image of their smiles, to create a global anthology of portraits.

Yoko Ono said: ‘People from cities and countries around the world will be able to freely upload and send their smiles by mobile phone and computer to the world and it’s people. Each time we add our smiles to #smilesfilm, we are creating our future, together. Give us your smile! I love you!’

Working as an artist, film-maker, poet, musician, writer, performance artist and peace activist for over five decades, Yoko Ono has influenced generations of artists and received numerous prestigious awards. In her prolific career, she has embraced a wide range of media, defying traditional boundaries and creating new forms of artistic expression. Born in 1933 inTokyo, she is a pioneer of conceptual art. Her work has been presented internationally in major exhibitions and performances